Our first belt testing of 2021 is here! For those that qualified at Pre-Testing, you will receive an email with a link for your test registration. Tigers will receive their test registration form in person.
Feb 10 – Tiny Tiger Belt Test Students that have earned all 5 belt stripes will be eligible to test during their class. Students that have not eligible to test yet are encouraged to stay at home on this day.
Whenever I hear my instructor, Grandmaster C. S. Kim, say one more time, a smile will come across my face. Let me explain.
The one more time concept is all about doing something again and again until we get it right. It’s going back and understanding the skill. This often time goes from one more time to several more times. Most people don’t like repeating something. However, the positive results speak for themselves.
My encouragement for everyone is to use this concept inside and outside of the dojang. Is there something that you are doing that needs several more reps to get it right? It takes patience to achieve the quality that we are after.
As you go throughout your day, put this concept into motion. By doing it one more time, we can be our best. When I hear the statement, “One more time” from my instructor, I realize that we are not necessarily doing it once more. We are on the path to improvement. However many “one more times” are needed.
Can you remember the last time you needed to use courage to accomplish something? As a Tang Soo Do student, you use courage every week.
For some, just getting on the floor is a big deal. While others may battle with overcoming negative thoughts about being able to do a skill. Sometimes it’s mustering up the courage to break the board in front of you.
Is there something new that you want to achieve this year? Are your inner fears holding you back? What obstacles do you have to overcome to turn your dream into a reality? Below are a few ways to help.
Face Your Fears – fear is the one thing to stop you from progress and achievement. Take small steps toward overcoming your fears. Little by little, you will overcome if you have a strong enough desire.
Stand on the Shoulders of Giants – whatever you are trying to accomplish, somebody out there has done it. Seek out how the experts have been successful. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Finding the path already cleared will help you to have courage to do it too.
Where focus goes, energy flows – your inner thoughts about your performance are very powerful. Start telling yourself that you can do it, and take the necessary steps to have more courage.
You don’t have to be a super hero to have courage. Remember, courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
I’ll never forget the time I had to get stitches under my nose. The memory is very vivid. The year was 1979 and I was waiting in the car with my dad at the doctor’s office.
My mother, who was pregnant with my sister, was inside for a checkup. I needed to go inside and use the restroom. My Dad gave some sound advice, “Don’t run.” All I heard was run. As I ran toward the doctor’s office, I tripped and fell face first on the brick steps. Ouch!
With blood everywhere, they sent me to the ER to get sewn up. There were three stitches to be exact. How do I remember this detail you ask? Since it itched so bad, I removed them myself three days later. My poor parents.
Everything healed up fine and I have a few small scars under my nose as a reminder. We all have some type of scar tissue from previous incidents. Sometimes, it’s the ones that are on the inside that hurt the most. Allowing a healing process for our wounds both inside and out is so important for moving forward. It simply takes time.
Once healed we have our scars to remind us that we are human and what to do in the future. In this time of our history, I feel we all need a time of healing. So much turmoil has transpired in our world. Like you, I’m ready for healing. I’m ready for our nation to be better.
We don’t have to agree with each other on all topics. However, can we listen to each other without judgement? Can we seek peace and unity vs being right? Healing takes time and effort. Let’s start today with a commitment to be better. I’m ready…are you?
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could pick up more patience from the store? Or even better yet, we could put it on our Amazon Prime reoccurring shopping list. It magically just shows up at your front door each month. Waaa-la! If it were just that easy, right? We can all use some extra patience. How can we get more? Let’s take a look.
Start Small – If you are lacking in the patience department, start working on being successful with the little things. Little by little, you will build your patience for the bigger situations.
Have a Plan – Having a plan will be a huge help in this endeavor of improving your patience. Make an agreement with yourself to walk away, take a few calming breaths or just remember this person or situation is not worth you getting upset over. When you start to feel like your losing your patience use your plan to help you not blow your stack.
Balance – When we are getting good rest, eating right and exercising, we feel more balanced. Lower or take away one or all of these and we are setting ourselves up failure. Get your rest, eat healthy and don’t skip your workouts. Doctors orders.:)
Patience is a virtue, and it takes some work. By starting small, having a plan and living a balanced life, we will develop more patience. The journey of improving your patience starts with yourself. Best wishes to a more patient you!
How are your goals going for 2021? Writing down our goals can be really exciting, but it’s the next step that most people struggle. It’s getting started. Need some help? Keep reading.
Make a Plan – Working on your goals without a plan is like trying to find your destination without a map. When developing your plan, make sure to be realistic in your approach. Small doable steps is a smart way to help you get started. Too big of action steps can often lead us to not doing anything at all. Keep it simple.
No Excuses – A million other things will creep up when it’s time to work on your goals. Don’t let your excuses stop you. Leave your excuses in the dust, and rise above them. Make the time to work on you. You are worth it.
Start With the End in Mind – Getting started is half the battle. One trick that I’ve found that works really well is thinking about how it’s going to feel after completing the goal. Just the simple action of taking steps toward my goal feels great. Focus on that feeling. Start with the end in mind.
This is your year to accomplish your goals. Make a realistic plan, don’t give into your excuses and start with the end in mind. Best wishes in your journey of becoming the best version of yourself. See you at the top!
Here we are again. It’s the beginning of the year. The time of year that we usually start or stop certain activities. Hopefully, we can all start positive habits to replace the negative ones.
Looking back to lessons from the past year, we can use the knowledge gained to help us make better choices. We all have our mistakes and regrets. It’s what we do with them that helps us to be a better human being.
It’s like pressing the reset button. It’s a fresh start. A new chapter in our life story. How will we be different this year than last? What areas of our life do we need to improve? Are their relationships that need mending?
As we gaze into the unknown of another year, I hope that we can all agree that we want to be better. Perhaps, it’s just being a little kinder, more patient with ourselves and others, smiling more often and being more present.
One of my favorite quotes comes from an agricultural scientist and inventor, George Washington Carver. His words of compassion has resonated with me for many years. “Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these.”
It’s that time of year again. You know, when we all start to figure out what we want to accomplish. So what goals do you want to reach in 2021? Maybe it’s to improve your fitness, relationships or financial situation. Whatever your goals are this year, let’s make them SMART Goals.
Let me explain.
S = Specific Smart Goals are very specific. If you want to accomplish a specific thing, you will need to articulate it. Write down your specific goals, post them in a visible location and read them daily.
M = Measurable Smart Goals are also measured. In other words, create a chart or system that helps you track your progress toward achieving your goal. Visibly seeing your progress on your chart can be a source of motivation to keep you going on your quest to improvement.
A = Achievable Smart Goals are attainable. When creating your goals, we want to be challenged but not to the point where we won’t hit the mark.
R = Realistic Smart Goals are ones that are realistic. Can we achieve the goal with the right amount of resources and time?
T = Time-based Smart Goals have a start and finish date. When a goal has no end, we often times will put it off. It will give you more of a sense of urgency and motivation to accomplish your goal.
As we wrap up 2020, let’s start the new year with goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. Now, that’s being SMART.
Have you ever noticed how the most joyous time of the year is often the most stressful time of the year? Our stress can often times be avoided, and be replaced with joy.
Here are my top 3 tips to help us deal with stress.
#1 Giving is Living – slow down and look at what we are doing as a gift vs as a chore. The best gift is that of giving of ourselves. Giving brings about joy in our heart. Give-Give-Give.
#2 Just Say No – overloading ourselves with too much can be a big contributor to stress. Pace yourself and know your limitations.
#3 Don’t Skip It – with the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, you need to be sure to stay ahead of the stress with your workouts. If you don’t workout, try taking a walk for 10-15 minutes each day. Another idea is to take a minute to take some deep cleansing breaths.
We all have stress in our lives. Don’t let if overwhelm you. this season by giving, saying no and not skipping those needed workouts.
Doesn’t it feel great to finish something that you started? Were you able to complete many of your goals from last January? As we begin to approach the end of this very bizarre year, let’s finish strong.
Taking inventory of goals that we set out to complete is a great idea. Careful to not start beating yourself up for the area(s) that you fell short. We are simply shining a light of encouragement to finish what we have set out to accomplish.
I’m all about the life filled with goals. It gives us direction on where we want to go in life. In the pursuit of improving ourselves, don’t lose sight of the beauty of life around us.
The 10th Article of Tang Soo Do states, Always Finish What You Start. As we finish the year, let’s follow this great advice of being a finisher. It all starts with one step. You can do it!
